1. Area of the Art
The present invention relates to devices which are used to help a user determine the month, date, day and year, or calendars. Specifically, the present invention relates to coded printed displays for calendaring effective for use as wall calendars, color coded diaries, electronic desk calendars, computer implemented or controlled calendaring systems and the like means for calendaring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the dawn of recorded time man has endeavored to utilize systems to track daily, weekly, monthly and yearly events. A calendarium, or rudimentary accounting book, originally allowed people to maintain in proper order the days on which accounts were due. A calendar may be generally defined as a system according to which the beginning and length of years, including subdivisions thereof, can be fixed. (The Oxford Universal Dictionary, 8th Edition, 1995, p. 349). Likewise, calendars may be characterized as tables showing the months, days of the week and dates of a given year--often specialized, and sometimes including more than one series of detailed tables. (Webster's Third New Int. Dictionary, 1971, p. 316).
The Julian Calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in B.C. 46 and is based upon the ordinary year having 365 days, with every fourth year being a leap year having 366 days. This may be contrasted with the Gregorian Calendar which modified the Julian Calendar with reference to astronomical data and the natural course of the seasons. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in A.D. 1582, and adopted in Great Britain in 1752.
The advances in both hardware and software technology have yet to provide any universal calendaring system allowing both rapid and accurate interface for disparate users. Accordingly, calendars having applicability for more than one monthly time period remain a longstanding need of most people in the modem world. Further, to provide these functions in a visually stimulating or easily readable format remains a prominent need among the studied art.
The following pertinent United States Letters Patents disclose calendar systems with a similar intent. However, the disclosure of each of said patents has been reviewed, examined and found to be technically distinguishable from the teachings of the instant invention as disclosed hereinafter.
U.S. Letters Patent DES. 296,567, issued Jul. 5, 1988 to Muramatsu, disclosed a hanging board calendar having four discrete sections joined together in a vertical plane by a fanciful rope member. There are no universal or perpetual aspects to this disclosure. In contradistinction, the teachings of the present invention are not limited, to a discrete series of years or one arrangement thereof. Rather the teachings of the present invention manifest themselves in a plurality of alternate ornamental arrangements, as set forth below, in combination with universal or perpetually applicable coded variables for allowing a user to rapidly extract month, day and date information.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,903, issued Oct. 17, 1995 to Lopez, disclosed a perpetual mechanical calendar having a front board having 12 windows and a sliding plate. The sliding plate was designed to move horizontally between seven different positions corresponding to years which begin on each day of the week. Additionally, the sliding member was arranged such that it could be raised to accommodate for differences between a standard year and a leap year. It is noted that oval shaped members 222 in FIG. 1 are transparent members. The mechanical nature of this disclosure and complexity thereof, in combination with the difficulty inherent in reading the same differentiate it from the teachings of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,723, issued May 24, 1994 to Cregg, disclosed a perpetual calendar in the form of first and second, concentric, rotatable disks. The first disk has indicia representing the various days of the week and lead lines which function as pointers. The second disk includes a day number grid. The second disk is rotated relative to the first disk to the desired position to position the month grid adjacent the appropriate position year position line. This patent's disclosure combines too many elements to create an immediately accessible visual image which a user can access instantly such as taught by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,292, issued Sep. 10, 1985 to Rubenstein et al., disclosed an electronic calendar in which each column corresponds to a particular day of the week. Each column has electronic display segments which can be programmed to display a number corresponding to the day of the month. Seven display elements are used to form a row representing a week and six such rows represent a month. The preferred embodiment includes a microprocessor and components to program messages. However, nothing in this disclosure was directed toward any universal mode of applicability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,147, issued Aug. 25, 1981 to Kolar, disclosed an apparatus having two elongated moveable members which are provided with indication members for individual calendar dates. The desired date is provided by positioning the two members relative to each other according to a code marking the desired month. Likewise, according to this disclosure the user's needs for inputting more information and changing settings differentiates the same from the teachings of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,443 disclosed a multi-month calendar in the format of a single month calendar having a two dimensional matrix. One direction of the matrix represents the day of a week having seven sections. The other direction comprises color coded month/day graphic indicia with each box of the matrix divided into triangular graphic portions or other geometric shapes such that each month/day will standout on its own. A legend, in the form of rectangularly shaped color codes is keyed to the coded graphic image. A user need only to identify the month by the color code, and then to refer the multi-month calendar to observe a desired or given day of an applicable month. The patent shows a two, three or four month display. The more months intended to be covered, the more complicated and difficult the calendar system is to read. Visually confusing images inherent in this patent differentiates the same from the instant teachings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,966, issued Feb. 10, 1976 to Zeiske, disclosed a perpetual calendar for separating two digits of the designated year. The calendar uses a means which can be a device having sliding flat, elongated elements, rotating circular elements, conical elements, separate cards, plates or other similar components which are capable of meshing to move relative to each other to display selected indicia. The concept is to use three elements to form the year, such as for example "19"+"7"+"3" for the year--1973--.
The calendar in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,966 also employs the concept of sub-categorization to divide time into various calendric time units such as century, decade, Year, Month. All of these elements are assembled on printed forms which are assembled to provide discrete viewing areas of discrete printed data to form the date in a selected month of a designated year. This differs from applicants teachings which are present in an integrated two dimensional matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,768,459, issued Oct. 30, 1956 to Corbett, disclosed a multi-year calendar in the form of a flat, open ended case having a slide mounted therein which is longer than the case. The user moves the slide right or left as necessary to display a particular monthly calendar. The slide has rows of characters comprising letters of the alphabet as well as numerals arranged in a predetermined format. The case has a chart listing a sequence of years arranged in rows and columns. The case includes a rectangular window and the slide is moved to place the printed numerical data in the window to display the month of a designated year.
It is noted that, excepting U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,226,443 and 4,540,292, each of the above listed patents appear to be based on the use of printed members and relative movement between members to form a month in a designated year for displaying the designated date, which differentiates each of the same from the instant teachings as set forth more fully below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,443, issued Oct. 7, 1990 to Brown, disclosed use of triangular-shaped, coded sections and a separate legend showing triangular divisions of a plurality of associated squared regions for a month corresponding to the month sections on the calendar for a designated year. However, this patent was directed to a multi-month calendar wherein the entire arrangement was compacted into a single month sheet. The confines of rectangular space defined the blocks and a complicated series of date divisions were disposed in each block. The crowded visual impression, and difficulty at readily discerning and desired data point from a quick viewing readily distinguishes this patent from the teachings of the present invention.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,292, which issued Sep. 10, 1985 to Rubenstein et al., is a microprocessor controlled device for generating digital data and displaying the date for a selected month in a designated year. The microprocessor can generate data for any year thereby making it a perpetual calendar generating device.
However, none of the above described references provide the features of the present invention disposed within a concise two-dimensional matrix or otherwise effective for correlating information using the unique color coded variable system of the present invention. Accordingly, the longstanding need for a universal color coded calendaring system having an interchangeable nature which makes it have perpetual applicability is solved in a heretofore unprecedented manner.